BEFORE voting in tomorrow's General Election, voters should consider the candidates' future policies on greenhouse warming - and the even more immediate problem of the now regular depletion of the ozone layer and its future effect on our lives.

Here are some facts:

It is predicted this summer a hole in the ozone layer is going to develop over the Arctic circle, which will then move to affect Britain and northern Europe. The ozone layer is a thin layer of gas in the stratosphere which effectively screens out most of the harmful UV radiation in sunlight.

A missing or much-reduced ozone layer would make virtually all types of sunbathing very unhealthy. A few hours of sunlight with no ozone UV filtering would inflict on an unprotected person almost irreversible skin and retinal eye damage. No amount of conventional sun tan lotion or cream could prevent the damage.

When you listen to political figures answer questions on the dangers of greenhouse warming, they may say "Can you give me an example of a similar event?"

My example of an immediate man-made global environmental crisis is the one created by the profligate use of chlorinated-fluorocarbon refrigerants - the gas used in refrigerators.

The analogy of ozone depletion to greenhouse warming is clear: both phenomena involve interference with the composition of gases in the atmosphere generated by industrial pollution.

Damage to the ozone layer has been clearly established while the evidence for greenhouse warming has shown a connection between our burning of fossil fuels and the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, a major greenhouse gas.

The earth is the only planet we have but at the rate we are wastefully degrading its resources our nemesis in the form of climate change is probably here already.

CJ Turver,

Sycamore Court,

New Earswick,

York

Updated: 09:36 Wednesday, May 04, 2005